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FIGURES OF THE PAST
Jrom tfje ILeabes of in Journals.
BY
JOSIAH QUINCY,\i
(CLASS OF 1821, HARVARD COLLEGE).
BOSTON:ROBERTS BROTHERS.
1883.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO.
I.
TT is by no means improbable that some future-*-
text-book, for the use of generations yet unborn,
will contain a question something like this : Whathistorical American of the nineteenth century has
exerted the most powerful influence upon the des
tinies of his countrymen ? And it is by no means
impossible that the answer to that interrogatory maybe thus written : Joseph Smith, the Mormon prophet.
And the reply, absurd as it doubtless seems to
most men now living, may be an obvious common
place to their descendants. History deals in sur
prises and paradoxes quite as startling as this. The
man who established a religion in this age of free
debate, who was and is to-day accepted by hundreds
of thousands as a direct emissary from the Most High,such a rare human being is not to be disposed of
by pelting his memory with unsavory epithets. Fa
natic, impostor, charlatan, he may have been;but
these hard names furnish no solution to the problemhe presents to us. Fanatics and impostors are living
and dying every day, and their memory is buried
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 377
with them;but the wonderful influence which this
founder of a religion exerted and still exerts throws
him into relief before us, not as a rogue to be crimi
nated, but as a phenomenon to be explained. The
most vital questions Americans are asking each other
to-day have to do with this man and what he has
left us. Is there any remedy heroic enough to meet
the case, yet in accordance with our national doc
trines of liberty and toleration, which can be applied
to the demoralizing doctrines now advanced by the
sect which he created? The possibilities of the
Mormon system are unfathomable. Polygamy may
be followed by still darker"
revelations." Here is a
society resting upon foundations which may at any
moment be made subversive of every duty which we
claim from the citizen. Must it be reached by that
last argument which quenched the evil fanaticisms of
Mulhausen and Minister ? A generation other than
mine must deal with these questions. Burning ques
tions they are, which must give a prominent place
in the history of the country to that sturdy self-
asserter whom I visited at Nauvoo. Joseph Smith,
claiming to be an inspired teacher, faced adversity
such as few men have been called to meet, enjoyed
a brief season of prosperity such as few men have
ever, attained, and, finally, forty-three days after I
saw him, went cheerfully to a martyr s death. When
he surrendered his person to Governor Ford, in order
to prevent the shedding of blood, the prophet had a
presentiment of what was before him."
I am going
like a lamb to the slaughter,"he is reported to have
378 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
said;
" but I am as calm as a summer s morning. I
have a conscience void of offence and shall die inno
cent.*
I have no theory to advance respecting this
extraordinary man. I shall simply give the facts of
my intercourse with him. At some future time they
may be found to have some bearing upon the theories
of others who are more competent to make them.
Ten closely written pages of my journal describe myimpressions of Nauvoo, and of its prophet, mayor,
general, and judge; but details, necessarily omitted
in the diary, went into letters addressed to friends at
home, and I shall use both these sources to make mynarrative as complete as possible. I happened to
visit Joseph Smith in company with a distinguished
gentleman, who, if rumor may be trusted, has been
as conscientious a journal-writer as was his father.
It is not impossible that my record may one daybe supplemented by that of my fellow-traveller, the
Hon. Charles Francis Adams.
It was on the 25th of April, 1844, that Mr. Adamsand myself left Boston for the journey to the West
which we had had for some time in contemplation.I omit all account of our adventures and a veryfull account of them is before me until the 14th
of May, when we are ascending the clear, sparkling
waters of the Upper Mississippi in the little steam
boat "
Amaranth." With one exception we find our
fellow-passengers uninteresting. The exception is
Dr. Goforth. A chivalric, yet simple personage is
this same doctor, who has served under General
Jackson at the battle of New Orleans and is now
JOSEPH SMITH AT NATJVOO. 379
going to Nauvoo, to promote the election of the just
nominated Henry Clay. It is to this gentleman we
owe our sight of the City of the Saints, which,
strangely enough, we had not intended to visit.
Though far from being a Mormon himself, Dr. Goforth
told us much that was good and interesting about
this strange people. He urged us to see for ourselves
the result of the singular political system which had
been fastened upon Christianity, and to make the
acquaintance of his friend, General Smith, the reli
gious and civil autocrat of the community. "We
agreed to stop at Nauvoo," says my journal, "pro
vided some conveyance should be found at the land
ing which would take us up to General Smith s tavern,
and prepared our baggage for this contingency. Owing
to various delays, we did not reach the landing till
nearly midnight, when our friend, who had jumped
on shore the moment the boat stopped, returned with
the intelligence that no carriage was to be had, and
so we bade him adieu, to go on our way. But, as we
still lingered upon the hurricane deck, he shouted
that there was a house on the landing, where we
could get a good bed. This changed our destiny, and
just at the last moment we hurried on shore. Here
we found that the good bed our friend had prom
ised us was in an old mill, which had been converted
into an Irish shanty. However, we made the best of
it, and, having dispossessed a cat and a small army
of cockroaches of their quarters on the coverlet,
we lay down in our dressing-gowns and were soon
asleep,"
380 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
We left our lowly bed in the gray light of the
morning, to find the rain descending in torrents and
the roads knee-deep in mud. Intelligence of our
arrival had in some mysterious manner reached Gen
eral Smith, and the prophet s own chariot, a comfort
able carryall, drawn by two horses, soon made its
appearance. It is probable that we owed true alacrity
with which we were served to an odd blunder which
had combined our names and personalities and set
forth that no less a man than ex-President John
Quincy Adams had arrived to visit Mr. Joseph Smith.
Happily, however, Dr. Goforth, who had got upon the
road before us, divided our persons and reduced them
to their proper proportions, so that no trace of disap
pointment was visible in the group of rough-looking
Mormons who awaited our descent at the door of the
tavern. It was a three-story frame house, set back
from the street and surrounded by a white fence, that
we had reached after about two miles of the muddiest
driving. Pre-eminent among the stragglers by the
door stood a man of commanding appearance, clad in
the costume of a journeyman carpenter when about
his work. He was a hearty, athletic fellow, with
blue eyes standing prominently out upon his light
complexion, a long nose, and a retreating forehead.
He wore striped pantaloons, a linen jacket, which
had not lately seen the washtub, and a beard of
some three days growth. This was the founder of
the religion which had been preached in every quar
ter of the earth. As Dr. Goforth introduced us to
the prophet, he mentioned the parentage of my com-
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 381
panion." God bless you, to begin with !
"
said Joseph
Smith, raising his hands in the air and letting them
descend upon the shoulders of Mr. Adams. The
benediction, though evidently sincere, had an odd
savor of what may be called official familiarity, such
as a crowned head might adopt on receiving the heir
presumptive of a friendly court. The greeting to me
was cordial with that sort of cordiality with which
the president of a college might welcome a deserving
janitor and a blessing formed no part of it. "And
now come, both of you, into the house !
"
said our
host, as, suiting the action to the word, he ushered
us across the threshold of his tavern.
A fine-looking man is what the passer-by would
instinctively have murmured upon meeting the re
markable individual who had fashioned the mould
which was to shape the feelings of so many thousands
of his fellow-mortals. But Smith was more than
this, and one could not resist the impression that
capacity and resource were natural to his stalwart
person. I have already mentioned the resemblance
he bore to Elisha E. Potter, of Rhode Island, whomI met in Washington in 1826. The likeness was
not such as would be recognized in a picture, but
rather one that would be felt in a grave emergency.
Of all men I have met, these two seemed best en
dowed with that kingly faculty which directs, as byintrinsic right, the feeble or confused souls who are
looking for guidance. This it is just to say with
emphasis; for the reader will find so much that is
puerile and even shocking in my report of the
382 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
prophet s conversation that he might never suspect
the impression of rugged power that was given by
the man.,On the right hand, as we entered the house, was a
small and very comfortless-looking bar-room; all the
more comfortless, perchance, from its being a dry
bar-room, as no spirituous liquors were permitted at
Nauvoo. In apparent search for more private quar
ters, the prophet opened the door of a room on the
left. He instantly shut it again, but not before I
perceived that the obstacle to our entrance was its
prior occupancy by a woman, in bed. He then ran
up-stairs, calling upon us to follow him, and, throw
ing open a door in the second story, disclosed three
Mormons in three beds. This was not satisfactory;
neither was the next chamber, which was found, on
inspection, to contain two sleeping disciples. The
third attempt was somewhat more fortunate, for we
had found a room which held but a single bed and a
single sleeper. Into this apartment we were invited
to enter, Our host immediately proceeded to the
bed, and drew the clothes well over the head of its
occupant. He then called a man to make a fire, and
begged us to sit down. Smith then began to talk
about himself and his people, as, of course, we en
couraged him to do. He addressed his words to
Mr. Adams oftener than to me, evidently thinking
that this gentleman had or was likely to have polit
ical influence, which it was desirable to conciliate.
Whether by subtle tact or happy accident, he intro
duced us to Mormonism as a secular institution
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 383
before stating its monstrous claims as a religious sys
tem. Polygamy, it must be remembered, formed no
part of the alleged revelations upon which the social
life at Nauvoo was based; indeed, the recorded pre
cepts of its prophet were utterly opposed to such a
practice, and it is, at least, doubtful whether this
barbarism was in any way sanctioned by Smith. Let
a man who has so much to answer for be allowed the
full benefit of the doubt; and Mormonism, minus the
spiritual wife system, had, as it has to-day, much that
was interesting in its secular aspects. Its founder
told us what he had accomplished and the terrible
persecutions through which he had brought his peo
ple. He spoke with bitterness of outrages to which
they had been subjected in Missouri, and impliedthat the wanton barbarities of his lawless enemies
must one day be atoned for. He spoke of the indus
trial results of his autocracy in the holy city we were
visiting, and of the extraordinary powers of its charter,
obtained through his friend, Governor Ford. The
past had shown him that a military organization was
necessary. He was now at the head of three thou
sand men, equipped by the State of Illinois and be
longing to its militia, and the Saints were prepared
to fight as well as to work. "
I decided," said Smith," that the commander of my troops ought to be a
lieutenant-general, and I was, of course, chosen to
that position. I sent my certificate of election to
Governor Ford, and received in return a commission
of lieutenant-general of the Nauvoo Legion and of
the militia of the State of Illinois. Now, on exam-
384 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
ining the Constitution of the United States, I find
that an officer must be tried by a court-martial com
posed of his equals in rank;and as I am the only
lieutenant-general in the country, I think they will
find it pretty hard to try rne."
At this point breakfast was announced, and a sub
stantial meal was served in a long back kitchen. Wesat down with about thirty persons, some of them
being in their shirt-sleeves, as if just come from work.
There was no going out, as the rain still fell in tor
rents;arid so, when we had finished breakfast, the
prophet (who had exchanged his working dress for a
broadcloth suit while we lingered at the table) pro
posed to return to the chamber we had quitted,
where he would give us his views of theology. The
bed had been made during our absence and the fire
plentifully replenished. Our party was now in
creased by the presence of the patriarch, HiramSmith
;Dr. Eichards, of Philadelphia, who seemed
to be a very modest and respectable Mormon;Dr.
Goforth;and a Methodist minister, whose name I
have not preserved. ISTo sooner were we seated than
there entered some half-dozen leaders of the sect,
among whom, I think, were Eigdon and Young ;but
of their presence I cannot be positive. These menconstituted a sort of silent chorus during the expositions of their chief. They fixed a searching, yetfurtive gaze upon Mr. Adams and myself, as if
eager to discover how we were impressed by what
we heard. Of the wild talk that we listened to I
have preserved but a few fragments. Smith was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 385
well versed in the letter of the Scriptures, though he
had little comprehension of their spirit. He began
by denying the doctrine of the Trinity, and sup
ported his views by the glib recitation of a number of texts. From this he passed to his ownclaims to special inspiration, quoting with great
emphasis the eleventh and twelfth verses of the
fourth chapter of Ephesians, which, in his eyes,
adumbrated the whole Mormon hierarchy. The de
grees and orders of ecclesiastical dignitaries he set
forth with great precision, being careful to mention
the interesting revelation which placed Joseph Smith
supreme above them all. This information was
plentifully besprinkled with cant phrases or homely
proverbs."
There, I have proved that point as
straight as a loon sleg."
" The curses of my enemies
run off from me like water from a duck s back."
Such are the specimens which my journal happensto preserve, but the exposition was constantly gar
nished with forcible vulgarisms of a similar sort.
The prophet referred to his miraculous gift of under
standing all languages, and took down a Bible in
various tongues, for the purpose of exhibiting his
accomplishments in this particular. Our position
as guests prevented our testing his powers by a
rigid examination, and the rendering of a few familiar
texts seemed to be accepted by his followers as a
triumphant demonstration of his abilities. It mayhave been an accident, but I observed that the bulk
of his translations were from the Hebrew, which,
presumably, his visitors did not understand, rather
25
386 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
than from the classical languages, in which they
might more easily have caught him tripping." And now come with me," said the prophet,
" and
I will show you the curiosities." So saying, he led
the way to a lower room, where sat a venerable
and respectable-looking lady. "This is my mother,
gentlemen. The curiosities we shall see belong to
her. They were purchased with her own money, at
a cost of six thousand dollars ;
" and then, with deep
feeling, were added the words, "And that woman was
turned out upon the prairie in the dead of night bya mob." There were some pine presses fixed against
the wall of the room. These receptacles Smith
opened, and disclosed four human bodies, shrunken
and black with age." These are mummies," said the
exhibitor."
I want you to look at that little runt
of a fellow over there. He was a great man in his
day. Why, that was Pharaoh JSTecho, King of
Egypt !
" Some parchments inscribed with hiero
glyphics were then offered us. They were preserved
under glass and handled with great respect." That
is the handwriting of Abraham, the Father of the
Faithful," said the prophet." This is the autograph
of Moses, and these lines were written by his brother
Aaron. Here we have the earliest account of the
Creation, from which Moses composed the First
Book of Genesis." The parchment last referred to
showed a rude drawing of a man and woman, and
a serpent walking upon a pair of legs. I ventured
to doubt the propriety of providing the reptile in
question with this unusual means of locomotion.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 387
"
Why, that s as plain as a pikestaff/1
was the re
joinder."
Before the Fall snakes always wentabout on legs, just like chickens. They were de
prived of them, in punishment for their agency in
the ruin of man." We were further assured that the
prophet was the only mortal who could translate
these mysterious writings, and that his power was
given by direct inspiration.
It is well known that Joseph Smith was accustomed to make his revelations point to those sturdybusiness habits which lead to prosperity in this
present life. He had little enough of that unmixedspiritual power which flashed out from the spare,neurasthenic body of Andrew Jackson. The prophet s hold upon you seemed to come from the bal
ance and harmony of temperament which reposesupon a large physical basis. No association withthe sacred phrases of Scripture could keep the in
spirations of this man from getting down upon thehard pan of practical affairs.
"Verily I say unto
you, let my servant, Sidney Gilbert, plant himselfin tliis place and establish a store." So had run oneof his revelations, in which no holier spirit titan thatof commerce is discernible. The exhibition of these
august relics concluded with a similar descent into
the hard modern world of fact. Monarchs, patriarchs,and parchments were very well in their way; butthis was clearly the nineteenth century, when prophets must get a living and provide for their rela
tions."
Gentlemen" said this bourgeois Mohammed,as he closed the cabinets,
"
those who see these curiosi
ties generally pay my mother a quarter of a dollar."
388 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
II.
THE clouds had parted when we emerged from
the chamber of curiosities, and there was time to see
the Temple before dinner. General Smith ordered a
capacious carriage, and we drove to that beautiful
eminence, bounded on three sides by the Mississippi,
which was covered by the holy city of Nauvoo. The
curve in the river enclosed a position lovely enoughto furnish a site for the Utopian communities of
Plato or Sir Thomas More;and here was an orderly
city, magnificently laid out, and teeming with activity
and enterprise. And all the diligent workers, whohad reared these handsome stores and comfortable
dwellings, bowed in subjection to the man to whose
unexampled absurdities we had listened that morn
ing. Not quite unexampled either. For many years
I held a trusteeship which required me to be a fre
quent visitor at the McLean Asylum for the Insane.
T had talked with some of its unhappy inmates, vic
tims of the sad but not uncommon delusion that each
had received the appointment of vicegerent of the
Deity upon earth. It is well known that such unfor
tunates, if asked to explain their confinement, have a
ready reply:"
I am sane. The rest of the world is mad,
and the majority is against me." It was like a dream
to find one s self moving through a prosperous commu
nity, where the repulsive claim of one of these pre
tenders was respectfully acknowledged. It was said
that Prince Hamlet had no need to recover his wits
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 389
when he was despatched to England, for the de
mented denizens of that island would never detect
his infirmity. If the blasphemous assumptions of
Smith seemed like the ravings of a lunatic, he had,
at least, brought them to a market where "
all the
people were as mad as he." Near the entrance to
the Temple we passed a workman who was laboring
upon a huge sun, which he had chiselled from the
solid rock. The countenance was of the negro type,
and it was surrounded by the conventional rays." General Smith," said the man, looking up from
his task,"
is this like the face you saw in vision ?"
"
Very nearit,"
answered the prophet,"
except"
(this was added with an air of careful connoisseurship
that was quite overpowering)"
except that the
nose is just a thought too broad."
The Mormon Temple was not fully completed. It
was a wonderful structure, altogether indescribable byme. Being, presumably, like something Smith had
seen in vision, it certainly cannot be compared to any
ecclesiastical building which may be discerned bythe natural eyesight. It was built of limestone, and
was partially supported by huge monolithic pillars,
each costing, said the prophet, three thousand dollars.
Then in the basement was the baptistery, which cen
tred in a mighty tank, surrounded by twelve wooden
oxen of colossal size. These animals, we were as
sured, were temporary. They were to be replaced bystone oxen as fast as they could be made. The Tem
ple, odd and striking as it was, produced no effect that
was commensurate with its cost. Perhaps it would
390 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
have required a genius to have designed anything
worthy of that noble site. The city of Nauvoo, with
its wide streets sloping gracefully to the farms en
closed on the prairie, seemed to be a better temple to
Him who prospers the work of industrious hands
than the grotesque structure on the hill, with all its
queer carvings of moons and suns. This, however,
was by no means the opinion of the man whose fiat
had reared the building. In a tone half-way between
jest and earnest, and which might have been taken for
either at the option of the hearer, the prophet put this
inquiry :
"
Is not here one greater than Solomon, who
built a Temple with the treasures of his father David
and with the assistance of Huram, King of Tyre ?
Joseph Smith has built his Temple with no one to
aid him in the work."
On returning to the tavern, dinner was served in
the kitchen where we had breakfasted. The prophet
carved at one end of the board, while some twenty
persons, Mormons or travellers (the former mostly
coatless), were scattered along its sides. At the close
of a substantial meal a message was brought to the
effect that the United States marshal had arrived
and wished to speak to Mr. Adams. This officer,
as it turned out, wanted my companion s advice
about the capture of some criminal, for whom he had
a warrant. The matter was one of some difficulty,
for, the prophet being absolute in Nauvoo, no man
could be arrested or held without his permission. I
do not remember what was the outcome of this in
terview, which was so protracted that it caused Mr.
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 391
Adams to miss one of the most notable exhibitions
of the day." General Smith," said Dr. Goforth, when we had
adjourned to the green in front of the tavern," I
think Mr. Quincy would like to hear you preach."
"Then I shall be happy to do so,"was the obliging
reply ; and, mounting the broad step which led from
the house, the prophet promptly addressed a sermon
to the little group about him. Our numbers were
constantly increased from the passers in the street,
and a most attentive audience of more than a hun
dred persons soon hung upon every word of the
speaker. The text was Mark xvi. 15, and the com
ments, though rambling and disconnected, were deliv
ered with the fluency and fervor of a camp-meeting
orator. The discourse was interrupted several times
by the Methodist minister before referred to, who
thought it incumbent upon him to question the
soundness of certain theological positions maintained
by the speaker. One specimen of the sparring which
ensued I thought worth setting down. The prophet
is asserting that baptism for the remission of sins is
essential for salvation. Minister. Stop ! What do
you say to the case of the penitent thief ? Prophet.
What do you mean by that ? Minister. You know our
Saviour said to the thief, "This day shalt thou be
with me in Paradise," which shows he could not have
been baptized before his admission. Prophet. Howdo you know he was n t baptized before he became a
thief? At this retort the sort of laugh that is pro
voked by an unexpected hit ran through the audience;
392 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
but this demonstration of sympathy was rebuked bya severe look from Smith, who went on to say :
" But
that is not the true answer. In the original Greek,
as this gentleman [turning to me] will inform you,the word that has been translated paradise means
simply a place of departed spirits. To that place
the penitent thief was conveyed, and there, doubtless,
he received the baptism necessary for his admission
to the heavenly kingdom." The other objections of
his antagonist were parried with a similar adroitness,
and in about fifteen minutes the prophet concluded a
sermon which it was evident that his disciples had
heard with the heartiest satisfaction.
In the afternoon we drove to visit the farms uponthe prairie which this enterprising people had enclosed
and were cultivating with every appearance of suc
cess. On returning, we stopped in a beautiful grove,
where there were seats and a platform for speaking." When the weather permits," said Smith,
" we hold
our services in this place ;but shall cease to do so
when the Temple is finished.""
I suppose none but
Mormon preachers are allowed in Nauvoo," said the
Methodist minister, who had accompanied our expedition.
" On thecontrary," replied the prophet,
"
I
shall be very happy to have you address my peoplenext Sunday, and I will insure you a most attentive
congregation." "What! do you mean that I maysay anything I please and that you will make no
reply ?"
" You may certainly say anything you
please; but I must reserve the right of adding a word
or two, if I judge best. I promise to speak of you in
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 393
the most respectful manner." As we rode back, there
was morev dispute between the minister and Smith."
Come," said the latter, suddenly slapping his antag
onist on the knee, to emphasize the production of a
triumphant text,"
if you can t argue better than that,
you shall say all you want to say to my people, and
I will promise to hold my fongue, for there s not a
Mormon among them who would need my assistance
to answeryou."
Some back-thrust was evidently re
quired to pay for this;and the minister, soon after,
having occasion to allude to some erroneous doctrineo
which I forget, suddenly exclaimed, "Why, I told
my congregation the other Sunday that they might
as well believe Joe Smith as such theology as that."
" Did you say Joe Smith in a sermon ?"
inquired the
person to whom the title had been applied." Of
course I did. Why not ?" The prophet s reply was
given with a quiet superiority that was overwhelming :
"
Considering only the day and the place, it would
have been more respectful to have said Lieutenant-
General Joseph Smith." Clearly, the worthy minister
was no match for the head of the Mormon church.
I have before me some relics of my visit to Nauvoo.
Here is the Book of Mormon, bearing the autograph
which its alleged discoverer and translator wrote, at
my request ;and here are some letters addressed to
the same personage, which I came by strangely
enough. I took them from a public basket of waste-
paper, which was placed for the service of the
inmates of the tavern. Three of these abandoned
epistles I asked leave to keep as memorials of my
394 FKJU1IKS OK Till] PAST.
visit, and no objection \v;is made to my doing HO. Themost interesting of these letters is dated "
Manchester,
August L>(
.>,l,SlL ,"and comes from ;in Knglish convert
l.o Moriiiomsin. The man writes lour pugrs of gilt-
edged IKIJX:!- to liis"
beloved broil, cr in || 1(.
Lord," andsends him by tin; i avor of Klder Snider Hie follow
ing presents :
" A hat, a black satin stock with front,
and a brooch." He would lain join the prophet in
Nauvoo; but the way is blocked by that not-unheard-
of obstacle, a mother-in-law, and until this excellent
l:idy "fallsasleep" the, disciple must deny his eyes
the sight of the master s face. The account of himself given by this correspondent shows with what
pathetic sincerity tin; divine commission of Smithwas accepted by a class of men which would seem to
be intellectually superior to so miserable, a delusion.
Suppressing the name of tin; writer, I shall give a
portion of this letter, as it furnishes food for relied ion,
and shows that the secret of the Mormon prophet is
riot to be fathomed at a glance:
"I take the liberty of writing a few lines, beingassured thai you are a manoffiod and a prophet of
the Most High, not only from testimony given by the
brethren, but the Spirit itself beareth witness. It is
true that mine eyes have; not seen and mine ears
heard you ;but the testimony I have received shows
pl;mdy that God does reveal by his Spirit things that
the natural man has not seen by his natural eyes.You may perhaps wonder who the individual is that
has written this letter. I will tell you, in a few
words : My father died about twenty-four years since,
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 395
leaving my mother a widow with seven children. . . .
I remember her teachings well, which were these:
Fear God, be strictly honest, and speak the truth. I
remember, when about three or four years old, being
with her in a shop. I saw a pin on the floor. I
picked it up and gave it to her. She told me to
give it to the shopman, with a sharp reprimand, show
ing me that it was a sin to take even a pin. The
remembrance of this slight circumstance has followed
me from that time to the present. [An account of
the writer s conversion to Mormonism follows, after
which he goes on thus.] Previously to joining this
Church, I was a singer in the Church of England,
had eight pounds a year, and a good situation in the
week-time at a retail hat shop. My wife s brother
told me I was robbing my children of their bread in
giving up the eight pounds. I told him I was not
dependent on that for bread, and said unto him the
Lord could make up the difference. He laughed at
me; but, beloved brother, in about one month from
the time I left the Church of England my master
raised my wages four shillings a week (which was
about one shilling per week more than that just sac
rificed), and this has continued on ever since, which
is now two years this month, for which I thank the
Lord, together with many other mercies."
I have quoted enough to show what really good
material Smith managed to draw into his net. Were
such fish to be caught with Spaulding s tedious ro
mance and a puerile fable of undecipherable gold
plates and gigantic spectacles ? Not these cheap and
396 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
wretched properties, but some mastering force of the
man who handled them, inspired the devoted mis
sionaries who worked such wonders. The remaining
letters, both written a year previous to my visit,
came from a certain Chicago attorney, who seems to
have been the personal friend as well as the legal
adviser of the prophet. With the legal advice come
warnings of plots which enemies are preparing, and
of the probability that a seizure of his person by secret
ambush is contemplated."
They hateyou,"
writes
this friendly lawyer," because they have done evil
unto you. . . . My advice to you is not to sleep in
your own house, but to have some place to sleep
strongly guarded by your own friends, so that youcan resist any sudden attempt that might be made
to kidnap you in the night. When the Missourians
come on this side and burn houses, depend upon it
they will not hesitate to make the attempt to carry
you away by force. Let me again caution you to be
every moment upon your guard."The man to whom
this letter was addressed had long been familiar with
perils. For fourteen years he was surrounded byvindictive enemies, who lost no opportunity to harass
him. He was in danger even \vhen we saw him at
the summit of his prosperity, and he was soon to seal
his testimony or, if you will, to expiate his imposture by death at the hands of dastardly assassins.
If these letters go little way toward interpreting the
man, they suggest that any hasty interpretation of him
is inadequate.
I should not say quite all that struck me about
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 397
Smith if I did not mention that he seemed to have a
keen sense of the humorous aspects of his position."
It seems to me, General," I said, as he was driving
us to the river, about sunset,"
that you have too much
power to be safely trusted to one man."" In your
hands or that of any otherperson,"
was the reply,"
so much power would, no doubt, be dangerous. I
am the only man in the world whom it would be
safe to trust with it. Eemember, I am a prophet !
"
The last five words were spoken in a rich, comical
aside, as if in hearty recognition of the ridiculous
sound they might have in the ears of a Gentile. I
asked him to test his powers by naming the success
ful candidate in the approaching presidential election.
"
Well, I will prophesy that John Tyler will not be
the next President, for some things are possible
and some things are probable ;but Tyler s election
is neither the one nor the other." We then went
on to talk of politics. Smith recognized the curse
and iniquity of slavery, though he opposed the
methods of the Abolitionists. His plan was for
the nation to pay for the slaves from the sale of the
public lands."
Congress," he said," should be com
pelled to take this course, by petitions from all
parts of the country ;but the petitioners must dis
claim all alliance with those who would disturb
the rights of property recognized by the Constitution
and foment insurrection." It may be worth while to
remark that Smith s plan was publicly advocated,
eleven years later, by one who has mixed so much
practical shrewdness with his lofty philosophy. In
398 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
1855, when men s minds had been moved to their
depths on the question of slavery, Mr. Ralph Waldo
Emerson declared that it should be met in accordance" with the interest of the South and with the settled
conscience of the North. It is not really a great
task, a great fight for this country to accomplish, to
buy that property of the planter, as the British na
tion bought the West Indian slaves." He further
says that the " United States will be brought to give
every inch of their public lands for a purpose like
this." We, who cari look back upon the terrible
cost of the fratricidal war which put an end to
slavery, now say that such a solution of the difficulty
would have been worthy a Christian statesman.
But if the retired scholar was in advance of his
time when he advocated this disposition of the public
property in 1855, what shall I say of the political
and religious leader who had committed himself, in
print, as well as in conversation, to the same course
in 1844 ? If the atmosphere of men s opinions was
stirred by such a proposition when war-clouds were
discernible in the sky, was it not a statesmanlike
word eleven years earlier, when the heavens looked
tranquil and beneficent ?
General Smith proceeded to unfold still further his
views upon politics. He denounced the Missouri
Compromise as an unjustifiable concession for the
benefit of slavery. It was Henry Clay s bid for the
presidency. Dr. Goforth might have spared himself
the trouble of coming to Nauvoo to electioneer for
a duellist who would fire at John Eandolph, but was
JOSEPH SMITH AT NAUVOO. 399
not brave enough to protect the Saints in their rights
as American citizens. Clay had told his people to
go to the wilds of Oregon and set up a government
of their own. Oh yes, the Saints might go into the
wilderness and obtain justice of the Indians, which
imbecile, time-serving politicians would not give
them in the land of freedom and equality. The
prophet then talked of the details of government.
He thought that the number of members admitted
to the Lower House of the National Legislature
should be reduced. A crowd only darkened counsel
and impeded business. A member to every half
million of population would be ample. The powers
of the President should be increased. He should
have authority to put down rebellion in a state, with
out waiting for the request of any governor ;for it
might happen that the governor himself would be
the leader of the rebels. It is needless to remark
how later events showed the executive weakness
that Smith pointed out, a weakness which cost
thousands of valuable lives and millions of treasure;
but the man mingled Utopian fallacies with his
shrewd suggestions. He talked as from a strong
mind utterly unenlightened by the teachings of his
tory. Finally, he told us what he would do, were
he President of the United States, and went on to
mention that he might one day so hold the balance
between parties as to render his election to that
office by no means unlikely.
Who can wonder that the chair of the National
Executive had its place among the visions of this
400 FIGURES OF THE PAST.
self-reliant man ? He had already traversed the
roughest part of the way to that coveted position.Born in the lowest ranks of poverty, without book-
learning and with the homeliest of all human names,he had made himself at the age of thirty-nine a
power upon earth. Of the multitudinous family of
Smith, from Adam down (Adam of the " Wealth of
Nations/- I mean), none had so won human heartsand shaped human lives as this Joseph. His in
fluence, whether for good or for evil, is potent to-day,and the end is not yet.
I have endeavored to give the details of my visit
to the Mormon prophet with absolute accuracy. If
the reader does not know just what to make of
Joseph Smith, I cannot help him out of the difficulty.I myself stand helpless before the puzzle.